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Tropical Storm Bret forms in Atlantic, with possible hurricane threat to Caribbean islands

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:10 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Bret formed in the central Atlantic Ocean on Monday, with forecasters saying it could pose a hurricane threat to the eastern Caribbean by Thursday and the Dominican Republic and Haiti by the weekend.The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Bret had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) at 5 p.m. Monday as it moved west across the Atlantic at 21 mph (33 kph). Forecasters expect it to strengthen over the next two days, reaching Category 1 hurricane strength of 74 mph (120 kph) by Wednesday night as it nears the Lesser Antilles. Because of wind shear, the storm is not expected to strengthen into a Category 2 storm.Bret is forecast to move across the Lesser Antilles as a hurricane on Thursday and Friday and unleash flooding, heavy rainfall and dangerous storm surge and waves, the center said. It is then expected to weaken slowly while still in the eastern Caribbean region, although the center warned that its forecast “remains a low con...

Barrier Breakers: New exhibit chronicles players who helped break Major League Baseball’s color barrier

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:10 GMT

Emerson College is hosting a special exhibit that chronicles and commemorates the players who broke baseball’s color barrier, including Jackie Robinson and Pumpsie Green.“Barrier Breakers: From Jackie to Pumpsie” officially opened Monday morning on Juneteenth, at 118 Boylston Street in Boston.The free exhibit, which runs through Friday, Aug. 4, features the stories of players who joined Major League Baseball and broke its color barrier over the span of 12 years, ranging from 1947 with Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers to Elijah “Pumpsie” Green, who joined the Boston Red Sox in 1959 and is credited with completing the integration cycle.The event is a a traveling exhibit made possible by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City and is being presented as part of a partnership between Emerson, the City of Boston, the Boston Public Library, Red Sox, and numerous other community partners.“Awareness – and when I see a kid with their parent say &...

Europe must build its own air defense, Macron

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:10 GMT

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron called on European nations Monday to seek more independence on airspace defense and advocated against relying too much on the U.S., a long-divisive issue that takes on new urgency because of Russia’s war in Ukraine.Macron made his case for Europeans building their own airspace protection strategy in the closing speech of a conference in Paris gathering defense ministers and other representatives of 20 European countries.The talks included anti-drone combat and ballistic missile defense, French organizers said, noting that Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has shown the importance and effectiveness of such equipment. Nuclear weapons deterrence was also on the agenda.“We need to know what the threat situation is … And then, what are we, Europeans, able to produce? And what do we then need to buy?” Macron said.He warned against purchasing immediately “what’s on the shelves.”Among nations who took p...

Ticker: Germany pledges millions for Intel plant; Amazon, Marriott to hire refugees in Europe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:10 GMT

Intel and the German government signed a deal Monday that will see the U.S. company spend more than $32.8 billion to build a chip manufacturing site in the eastern city of Magdeburg, after Germany pledged to cover a third of the investment required.Word of the agreement came as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger in Berlin.Intel acquired the land for two semiconductor facilities in Magdeburg in November. It says the first one is expected to start production in four or five years.“The investment in Germany means a significant expansion of Intel’s production capacity in Europe and is the biggest investment ever made by a foreign company in Germany,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who is also the country’s vice chancellor, said in a statement.Amazon, Marriott  to hire refugees in EuropeMultinational companies including Amazon, Marriott, Hilton are pledging to hire more than 13,000 Ukrainian women and other refugees in Europe over the next ...

Some quick facts about submersible missing near Titanic wreck off Newfoundland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:10 GMT

A search was underway Monday in an area of the Atlantic Ocean about 700 kilometres south of Newfoundland for a small submersible reported missing during a dive to view the wreckage of the Titanic. Here are a few facts about the missing vessel and its owner, Washington-based OceanGate Expeditions.1. The Titan is a 6.4-metre manned submersible made of carbon fibre and titanium, designed to carry five people to depths of up to 4,000 metres for “site survey and inspection, research and data collection, film and media production, and deepsea testing of hardware and software,” according to OceanGate’s website. The craft includes a large viewport to allow passengers to view their surroundings, and is lowered into the water with the help of what the company calls a “patented, integrated launch and recovery platform.”2. The vessel carried a combination of crew and tourists, who pay huge fees to view the wreck site and participate in research tasks. The Canadian ...

Former student opens fire in Brazilian school, killing teen and wounding other, official says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:10 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A former student entered a school and then began shooting in Brazil’s southern Parana state Monday, killing a 16-year-old girl and severely wounding another teen, a spokesperson for the city of Cambé told The Associated Press by phone.The gunman, aged 20 or 21, entered the Professora Helena Kolody state school purportedly to retrieve some documents, spokesperson Thiago Mossini said. Once inside the building, the man fired at least a dozen shots before being restrained by a school employee, Mossini said. The alleged shooter was later arrested by police, Mossini said.The wounded student, a 17-year-old, remains in critical condition, the University Hospital of Londrina said in a statement Monday evening. The medical team said that while it was necessary to place a catheter, the patient’s critical state did not allow for him to be transported to the surgery room at the moment.The boy’s father, Rodrigo Augusto, told TV network Globo News earlier Mo...

UN envoy to intensify negotiations to reach final agreement on Libyan elections in the coming months

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:10 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. special envoy for Libya said Monday he plans to intensify negotiations with the country’s feuding parties to reach “a final settlement” in the coming months on the most contentious issues blocking long postponed elections in the troubled north African nation.Abdoulaye Bathily warned the U.N. Security Council that prolonging the current status quo “is fraught with disaster for Libya and its neighbors.” And he said it’s imperative that members increase pressure on the parties, speak with one voice, and act “to remove spoilers.”Bathily called draft laws for presidential and parliamentary elections agreed to by a committee drawn from Libya’s two rival legislative bodies on June 6 “an important step forward, though not sufficient to resolve the most contested issues and enable successful elections.”He said the four most politically contested issues in the draft laws are: eligibility criteria for presidential candidates, a mandatory second round of voting ev...

Mexico soccer coach Diego Cocca fired after 3-0 loss to US and is replaced by Jaime Lozano

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:10 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Diego Cocca was fired as coach of Mexico’s national team on Monday, four days after a 3-0 loss to the United States in a CONCACAF Nations League semifinal. The federation said Jaime Lozano will take over the national team. Lozano coached under-23 team to a bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Cocca was hired in February and led El Tri to three wins, a loss and three draws. El Tri had not lost to the U.S. by three goals in 23 years.“You can lose to the United States, because that’s soccer,” Mexican Football Federation President Juan Carlos Rodríguez. “What is unacceptable is the way that victory was ruled out from the start due to logistical decisions that split the group.”Several Mexican players had complained about the long rides to practice sessions preceding the match in Las Vegas.Cocca took over from Gerardo Martino after Mexico was eliminated from the World Cup in the first round last fall, ending a streak of seven straight appearances — and exits —...

Minutes after reported Near West Side shooting, crowds twerk & taunt cops

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:10 GMT

CHICAGO — “10-1” is among the most serious calls you’ll hear police make over the radio. It indicates a police officer’s life is at risk and an immediate response is needed.“Shots fired! Shots fired!” was the call over police radio as a large crowd gathered late Saturday night near the intersection of Gladys and Hoyne on the Near West Side. “Multiple shots! Multiple shots fired!” said an officer over the radio. “Get everybody over here - give me long guns.”Police swarmed the scene and determined no officers were shot at – or hit – according to a department spokesperson.  5 shot, 2 fatally after shooting in Roseland, victim ID’d A transcript of police scanner traffic in the minutes that followed showed confusion over what had happened. “The story we heard from the crowd in the last 15 minutes is some drunk female picked up a gun and fired it into the air,” said one officer over the radio. “I don't know if we have that witness or not, but that's the story out here. T...

Helicopter crashed in Cedar Lake, investigation ongoing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:10 GMT

CEDAR LAKE, Ind. -- A helicopter crashed into a Northwestern Indiana lake Monday afternoon.According to the Federal Aviation administration (FAA), a Robinson R-22 helicopter crashed into Cedar Lake in Cedar Lake, Indiana, around 2 p.m. on Monday, June 19. Pregnant woman drowns in lake in NW Indiana, ID’d Two people were reportedly onboard the helicopter. Both were able to able to make it out safely and their condition's are unknown at this time.The NTSB are expected to provide more information as it becomes available. Emergency crews remain on scene at this time.The investigation is ongoing.Stay with WGN as this story develops.